John S. Worden
John is the long-time chair of the San Francisco Bar Association's (BASF) ADR/Arbitration Section and a former board member of both BASF and BASF's Justice and Diversity Center.
Trial Practice
- Commercial/contract
- Construction
- Environmental
- Finance
- Insurance coverage
- Real estate
- Products/personal injury/wrongful death
Financial Services Practice
In addition to his courtroom trial work, John’s experience in the financial services area involves dozens of Financial Industry Regulator Authority (FINRA) arbitrations, ranging from banking disputes and customer suits against broker-dealers to venture capital and private equity disputes.
Insurance Coverage Practice
John has successfully represented both policyholders and carriers in insurance disputes in such areas as:
- Comprehensive general liability
- Construction
- D&O
- Environmental/asbestos
- Personal injury
- Reinsurance
Construction Practice
John has handled construction disputes for 30 years, representing subcontractors, prime contractors, and owners in all types of litigation, including:
- Commercial general and subcontractors on commercial projects throughout California and Nevada
- Multiple Las Vegas casinos
- The owners/developers in numerous residential home and condominium developments throughout the West
Personal Injury Practice
John has handled and tried for plaintiffs and defendants the following types of personal injury cases:
- Asbestos
- Automobile and trucking
- Catastrophic injury/wrongful death
- Premises liability
Related Practices
Related Industries
Insights
Credentials
Education
- J.D. magna cum laude Seattle University School of Law 1989
- Editor, Seattle University Law Review
- B.A. with honors Seattle University 1986
- Honors program
Bar Admissions
- California
- Nevada
Professional Memberships and Activities
- Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
- Member, American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), San Francisco Chapter
- Member, Admissions and Diversity Committees, Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC)
- Bar Association of San Francisco
- Director, Board of Directors
- Director, Justice & Diversity Center
- Director, Barristers Club
- Chair, ADR/Arbitration Section
- Past chair, Antitrust and Securities Litigation Section
- Adjunct professor, Evidence and Litigation Practice, University of California – Hastings College of the Law
Recognition
- The Best Lawyers in America
- Lawyer of the Year, Product Liability Litigation - Defendants, 2025
- Commercial Litigation, 2023 – 2025
- Product Liability Litigation - Defendants, 2023 – 2025
- Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, 2025
- Super Lawyers,Northern California, 2003 – 2023
- The Bar Association of San Francisco
- Lawyer of the Year, 2015
- Barrister of the Year, 1997
- Justice & Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco, Outstanding Volunteer, 2016 – 2018
Community
Volunteerism
- John is a living kidney donor
- Settlement referee, San Francisco Superior Court
- Member, Lafayette Police Commission, Lafayette, California
Personal Activities
In his spare time, John is an athlete. He is a black belt kung fu instructor (having received multiple golds at the National Kung Fu Championships in Baltimore and a silver medal at the 2003 World Kung Fu Championships in São Paulo, Brazil) and competes in two other sports.